A class for any clown or performer ready to dive into the world of classical acting.
This class is an invitation for clowns and physical performers to hone your acting chops by living inside Shakespeare’s language without leaving behind all that makes your work most fresh and alive. We’ll first get more acquainted with Shakespeare’s language, using text analysis, classical exercises, and applying tools that allow us to act with clarity and specificity. Once we understand the language fully, and are unintimidated to, as Hamlet says, "speak the speech…trippingly on the tongue,” a vast playground opens to the performer. We’ll see how humor and honesty live right in the words, and how to marry your instinct, impulse, and vulnerability with the brilliant blueprint Shakespeare has laid out for the Modern Clown.
Each student will be assigned their own Shakespearian monologue, which they will work on throughout the class. Group and pair exercises will be used to give you the chance to connect, collaborate, and build your craft with others. Through text work, improvisation, and character exploration, performers will learn to bring their unique comic voice into heightened language, unlocking the wit, vulnerability, and subversion at the heart of classical performance. Perfect for anyone eager to expand their craft while staying rooted in play.
Class SOLD OUT? Join the WAITLIST!
Tuesdays
June 2nd, June 9th, June 16th, June 23rd, June 30th, July 7th
11am-2:30pm
in the Mainstage
About the Instructor:
Madeleine Woolner is a theatre artist & filmmaker known for her site specific work and modern adaptations of classical text. She holds a Masters in Classical Acting for Professional Theater from London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) and has performed & directed in venues from The Globe, London to Reed Park Tennis Court in Santa Monica. Let's boogie baby.
Class cancellation policy: No refunds, exchanges, or transfers.